Again, this post has grown to include many supporting links and videos. Please read to the end and check out what I have posted. Thanks!

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The more I discuss the ongoing situation regarding Palestinians and Israelis, the more I have to scratch my head. I am perplexed as to how some of my friends can be so blind to the human rights violations that have been occurring by the hands of the state of Israel.

I can understand some of the confusion, but once you are faced with what the Palestinian people go thru on a day to day basis, how can you still idly sit by and defend this behavior?

Even this afternoon, I have people posting comments stating they have no sympathy for the Palestinian people. I just dont understand the lack of empathy or the lack of humanitarianism.

Those who ‘agree’ with my view, cannot understand why survivors and descendants of the Holocaust try and put others people in the same position they were in and have been in many of times throughout history.

And, let me straight up say this, since obviously it needs saying….I am not anti-Israel, Anti-Semitic, or pro-Palestinian. I am FOR human rights. I do not think that ANY of these people, whether Jew or Arab should die just because they are different religions.

And, as Ive said multiple times via social media, for as many people like to point out that Arabs call for the extinction of the Jews, there is just as many instances where the Jews have proven they want to exterminate the Arabs.

There are extremists in all branches of faith, including Christianity. I am talking about a complete lack of empathy for Palestinians due to that type of extremism that is occurring by the hands of the state of Israel. Lets get real now, Palestinians live separated from any way of supporting themselves, they live separated from their own culture in the West Bank, and Israel has been clearly been the aggressor in this, even breaking their own cease fire agreements on many cases. Where are the cries for the innocent Palestinians who are being malnourished? Where are the cries after groups like World Vision actually SHOW what is going on in Gaza?

Both sides have done wrong. But it takes TWO sides to even ATTEMPT to make things right.

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Settlements, Ethnic Cleansing, Human Rights Violations

As I said in my last post, at one time the Jews flourished amongst the Arabs. It wasnt until 1915 that Jewish ‘citizens’ began settlements, and the situation was again aggravated in 1922 when land was stripped from the Palestinians. Ethnic cleansing began in the The Deir Yassin Massacre of 1948 .

In 2009, Human Rights Watch reported Israel accused of indiscriminate phosphorus use in Gaza. Even the United Nations warned Israel against shooting this substance into densely populated areas. Israel attempted to claim that Hamas was using Palestinians as human shields but a further investigation into this claim, could not be proven.

When Hamas was elected six years ago, Israel said they wanted to starve Palestinian residents of Gaza. Israels starvation diet for Gaza The fact that a blockade was built blocking Palestinians from their farmland and Israel controls the border shows that Israel shows no regard for the innocent Palestinians that reside in Gaza.

We also know that Israels water supply is controlled by Israel and that the World Health Organization and UNEP was warning that diseases like hepatitis could be on the rise. Gazas water supply near collapse (This article is dated 2009) At the time, only 5-10% of the water supply was fit for human consumption.

A post from haaretz states that Israel aimed at keeping Gaza on the brink of collapse – QUOTE: “As part of their overall embargo plan against Gaza, Israeli officials have confirmed to (U.S. embassy economic officers) on multiple occasions that they intend to keep the Gazan economy on the brink of collapse without quite pushing it over the edge,” one of the cables read.” ENDQUOTE

In an article I came across this morning via the Daily Beast entitled Netanyahu: No Current Plans for Gaza Ground War there is a startling discovery: QUOTE- The most effective missile-defense system appears to be Iron Dome, for which the U.S. granted $205 million in Fiscal Year 2011, which ended on Sept. 30. -END QUOTE

As much as I find regarding United States taxpayer dollars supporting Israeli military, I am always surprised at just how much of our dollars have been sent to Israel.

QUOTE: “Ahmed Jabari was a subcontractor, in charge of maintaining Israel’s security in Gaza… Israel demanded of Hamas that it observe the truce in the south and enforce it on the multiplicity of armed organizations in the Gaza Strip. The man responsible for carrying out this policy was Ahmed Jabari… Jabari was also Israel’s partner in the negotiations for the release of Gilad Shalit; it was he who ensured the captive soldier’s welfare and safety, and it was he who saw to Shalit’s return home last fall.” END QUOTE

I ran across a video of Netanyahu totally unaware of a camera filming. I dont know if the translation is correct, but if it is, Israel just expects us to keep defending them, even if Netanyahu knows hes wrong.

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Alot of my friends like to point out instances in which Hamas has sent rockets into Israel, and calls those ‘war crimes’ like in the post seen on the National Review – Maintaining Clarity in the Debate over Gaza Tactics – but let me remind you of the landscape of Gaza. It is 4 miles wide and 25 miles long, most of this area is densely populated.

Let me also remind you that BOTH sides of this argument has every right to defend itself. And let me remind you that this launching of rockets, missiles and bombs has been a tit for tat. Both sides have continually responded to the other side.

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While I was editing this post, two friends sent me the following link: Op-Ed: Spare Us the Pieties on Gaza — My comment on this link can be explained by the other blogs Ive posted on this topic. And, not that I would expect anything else from an op-ed piece, but its very one sided.

QUOTE- As for those “refugee camps” – why are they “refugee camps” when Israel handed over all that territory for a nation to be built in peace and security alongside Israel? Why are all Palestinians automatically refugees even after they’ve been given a home? The only true refugees are the thousands of Israelis who were driven from Gaza and still live in trailer parks. No tears for them in this world that still dreams of Auschwitz. END QUOTE

Here is a fabulous post by a Rabbi Outrage in Gaza Redux who, in his own words feels enraged by what is occurring in Gaza.

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Here is a powerful excerpt of a speech made in 2010:

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Documentaries Worth a Watch

And for those of you still with me here, I ask that you watch the film, Tears of Gaza, embedded below:

If, for some reason the video is removed, you can watch it here: Tears of Gaza

Or, watch this documentary made by Harry Fear, Martyred in Gaza: Martyred in Gaza

Occupation 101 – the truth about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Peace, Propaganda and the Promised Land:

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Now, Im aware that some of you will not watch these.

Some of you will NEVER see the mistreatment of Palestinians as inhumane, and some of you who wont see this as inhumane will bring up Israel as being the ones treated inhumanely. But ask yourself this: Who in Israel is being kept from the necessities of life (food, water, electricity)?